Preparation and Characterization of SiO<sub>2</sub>-Coated TiO<sub>2</sub> Thin Films via Sol-Gel Dip Coating Technique

Abstract

In the present research, nanocrystalline TiO2 thin films have been prepared via a sol-gel method using Ti {OCH(CH3)2}4 act as a precursor. The morphological effect of sets of as-deposited and annealed samples (100, 300, 500 and 700°C for 1 hour) and thickness variation on the structural properties were investigated by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) measurements. The observation showed that the size of grain increases with film thickness, indicating that the size of the particles in the films can be effectively controlled by changing the temperature of thermal treatment. AFM topology images of the as-deposited and annealed TiO2 films at 100 and 300°C indicates the films are rather smooth, compact, bulky, not uniform and column-like structure. TiO2 thin films annealed at 500 and 700°C showed homogenous morphology surface with regular size of spherical particles.